Green garlic and methods of production

Abstract

A new vegetable, referred to herein as green garlic, grown from garlic bulbils is disclosed. In particular examples, the green garlic is rich in one or more thiosulfinates. Methods of producing green garlic are also disclosed. In some examples, such methods permit year-round commercial production of green garlic.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method of producing a green garlic, comprising:
 growing a hardneck garlic bulbil; and   harvesting green garlic.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises planting the hardneck garlic bulbil under conditions that result in germination of the bulbil prior to growing the bulbil. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bulbil is grown indoors. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bulbil is grown in quantities sufficient for commercial production. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein commercial production exceeds 100 pounds of green garlic annually. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the bulbils are planted at a density of 1-7 million bulbils per acre. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bulbil is an  Allium sativuum  L. bulbil. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the green garlic is harvested from the bulbil at least 30 days after planting the bulbil. 
     
     
         9 . A method of producing green garlic, comprising:
 harvesting bulbils from hardneck garlic;   exposing the harvested bulbils to artificially induced cold temperatures to provide a germination rate of such bulbils of at least 90% 7 days following planting;   planting the bulbils following cold exposure to grow the bulbils into green garlic; and   harvesting the green garlic.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein harvested bulbils are sorted into substantially uniform sizes. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein exposing the harvested bulbils to artificially induced cold temperatures comprises exposing the harvested bulbils to a temperature of 4° C. for at least 20 days. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the bulbils are planted and grown indoors. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the bulbil is grown in quantities sufficient for commercial production. 
     
     
         14 . A green garlic produced by the method of  claim 9 . 
     
     
         15 . A neutricutical comprising the green garlic of  claim 14 , or an extract thereof. 
     
     
         16 . A method of preparing a food product comprising one or more sulfur-containing compounds, comprising:
 germinating a hardneck garlic bulbil; and   harvesting one or more shoots from the bulbil to form a food product comprising one or more sulfur-containing compounds.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the sulfur-containing compounds comprise thiosulfinates. 
     
     
         18 . A method of increasing an amount of thiosulfinates in a mammal, comprising:
 administering the green garlic of  claim 14 , or a non-toxic extract of the green garlic, to the mammal, thereby increasing an amount of thiosulfinates in the mammal.   
     
     
         19 . A packaged or containerized green garlic of  claim 14 . 
     
     
         20 . A green garlic vegetable grown from a bulbil.